I will love you forever Grumples

Tux’s coming home day just happened to fall on what would have been Grumples 10th birthday. It couldn’t have been more meant to be.
We learned a lot about his life this week, and while so devastating and heartbreaking, we also learned some really great things, like how much he loves peanut butter and how he likes to let out a huge sigh before laying down to go to sleep.

Tux is going to be three in November. He was rescued from a horrible breeding situation, and it breaks my heart what someone would do to sell puppies at the expense of this sweet dog. What is even sadder is that the people supporting this breeder’s business have no idea what is going on behind the scenes; unfortunately, I cannot speak too much more because it could ruin the possibility of having him surrender other dogs in the future. This breeder was making $21,000 off of his litters but still treating Tux like a prisoner.

If you ever use a breeder to adopt a dog, please go there and meet the dogs, meet the parents, check out their surroundings, and don’t just let someone bring you a dog.  When Leo was adopted, we went out to the farm where he came from, met the parents, ran around the field with them, and their dogs that do have puppies are own by people and not imprisoned there. I’m not here to bash breeders; I’m here to tell you to do your research because after meeting Tux, I learned what we all fear. Tux was kept in a crate outside most of his life. He doesn’t know what doors are, what stairs are, and everything is new to him. Showing him the world is already one of my favorite things to do.
He’s extremely timid, and rightfully so.

He had his vocal cords taken out by the breeder, a serious surgery, and one of the cruelest things to do to a dog. He doesn’t bark, he doesn’t wag his tail, and he doesn’t know what love is. Taking away the main means of expression is unjustifiably cruel. I want to cry every time I think about this. I know this may offend a few readers, but there’s a special place in hell for people who abuse animals. There’s nothing that makes me angrier than someone mistreating an innocent animal. Our goal as his new parents is to help him learn to trust and become the confident dog we know he can become.
Tux is going to need a serious makeover, not for the cosmetics, but for his health. He currently smells like a Cheeto because he has a severe yeast infection and hair buildup in his lobes. The yeast infection makes some of his hair fall out in chunks, which makes me so sad. He still has a lot of mats and dirt buildup around his skin. I hate that we have to get him groomed so soon into his transition, but I can’t let his hygiene go any longer because it’s now harming him. We are working with a groomer specializing in rescues, and they get him groomed in a little over an hour and will do everything they can to make him feel safe. I will also be there with him the entire time.
I will pour all of my love and attention into getting Tux to become the dog he has always deserved to be. There are so many people in his corner rooting for him, and the amount of love he’s going to get will make up for all the lost moments.  On Thursday of last week, I got a call from Tux’s foster mom. We chatted all about him, and we both felt like he would thrive in our family. We planned to head to Georgia on Saturday to meet him and let him get to know us a bit before we came back to pick him up.
Meeting him was love at first sight. He even came up to Kyle, which isn’t something he does to people. I loved him so much I could cry.
  His favorite place to hide was under her desk.
We sat by him and talked to him for a little while, and then something incredible happened. He started to take treats from us. I know what you’re thinking. What’s so great about a dog taking treats? Well, he wouldn’t take treats from ANYONE. She would give him chicken, bacon, and everything a dog would want, and he wouldn’t touch it. He was eating treats right out of our hands. I couldn’t believe the progress we made with him just after an hour of being with him. I knew we were going to be able to change his life around. I’m confident we can do this.